Volkswagen gags academics from revealing car flaws

Tuesday

LONDON (AP) - A British university says it is delaying the publication of an academic paper on electronic vulnerabilities in high-end Volkswagen cars following legal action from the German automaker.

LONDON (AP) — A British university says it is delaying the publication of an academic paper on electronic vulnerabilities in high-end Volkswagen cars following legal action from the German automaker.

In a statement, the University of Birmingham says it will "defer publication" of the paper, which explains how researchers were able to hack the sophisticated anti-theft system used in Porsches, Audis, Bentleys, and Lamborghinis.

The academics had hoped to publish the paper at the USENIX Security Conference in Washington next month but Volkswagen sued to prevent them from disclosing key details of their work, arguing that publicizing the flaw would put the security of some of its most expensive vehicles at risk.

The University of Birmingham declined further comment Tuesday. Volkswagen also declined comment, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.